On August 2 1939 Art Cohn, sports editor of the Oakland Tribune wrote in his column 'Cohn-ing tower': 'If he dared Charley Coates - the negro fighter who takes on Domingo Valin here tonight - could tell quite a story. He has probably fought as many bouts with handcuffs on as off. Certainly I can name a dozen stu-bums holding wins over him who aren't fit to lace on his gloves. They used to advertise him as Killer Coates. That is, until the State Athletic Commission passed a law forbidding the use of such a sanguinary nom de guerre. Now the billboards advertise him simply as Dynamite Coates. As a matter of fact, Coates never killed anything ...except the gate.'
On October 17 1939 it was reported in the same paper that the State Athletic Commission had barred Charley Coates from fighting in California 'for the good of the game.' and on November 18 of the same year that he had been reinstated. At the time of his 1936 fight with Maxie Rosenbloom, Coates was reportedly 23 years old.